Fantasy Football Week 17 – All You Need to Know

No matter what happens in gameweek 17 – the third set of Premier League fixtures in the space of a week – Antonio Conte’s Chelsea will be top over Christmas! Last week’s Premier League action earned plenty of points for players recommended in our previous article, so read more below to see our recent winners and see our tips for who to buy and who to bench for this weekend!

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Who to Buy

Christian Eriksen (Spurs) – Price: £8.5m

Since gameweek 13, Christian Eriksen sits top for goal attempts from midfield and ranks second only to Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez for chances created. His five goals, two assists and eight bonus points (two 3-pointers and one 2-pointer) over Tottenham’s last four Premier League matches have seen him take away a massive 49 points, more than he’d earnt over the twelve fixtures prior – previous season averages show that the best is yet to come from the Dane! Alongside his £8.5m price tag and Spurs’ fixture at home to Burnley, Eriksen should be one of the best investments possible ahead of this weekend.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) – Price: £11.2m

Manchester United have been one of the quieter sides when it comes to scoring goals in recent weeks. As such, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return to form has gone somewhat unnoticed. Zlatan has scored five, assisted one and taken nine bonus points over his last five appearances for Manchester United, making him one of the most in-form forwards in the Premier League. His current “under the radar” status sees him available for £0.3m cheaper than his original price at the start of the season and Manchester United have a very favourable set of fixtures ahead of them over the Christmas period – all of United’s next four matches are rated 2 or lower on the FDR (fixture difficulty rating).

Divok Origi (Liverpool) – Price: £6.8m

Divock Origi has thrived in his starting 11 spot since the absence of the injured Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge. Origi has netted one in each of his last five appearances for Liverpool (all of the last four Premier League matches and one in the League Cup) and he’s one of the cheaper Liverpool midfielders or forwards available. Liverpool have a huge match against Merseyside rivals Everton next Monday – Everton are six consecutive matches without a clean sheet – and we feel he should continue to be a decent investment.

Chelsea Defenders – Price: £6.3m

Since being swept aside by Arsenal in gameweek 6, Chelsea have won ten successive matches, keeping a clean sheet in eight of these. Antonio Conte’s decision to move to a back three supported by wing backs has produced unrivaled defensive stability and seen defensive trio Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill and Marcos Alonso (all £6.3m) become three of the top four defenders in Premier League fantasy. Alonso’s relentless forward raids offer attacking potential and he has only once failed to finish the match with either an assist or clean sheet in his 10 starts. Azpilicueta claimed two bonus points last time out against Sunderland after his share of defensive work (eight clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBI), two successful tackles and five recoveries) slightly bettered that of Gary Cahill who claimed just one bonus point.

Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion) – Price: £5.0m

West Brom’s Chris Brunt is listed as a defender in Fantasy Premier League, though has come into his own since being deployed as a midfielder by Tony Pulis in recent weeks. As such, not only does Brunt stand to earn points for a clean sheet, but he’s also regularly involved in the action at the other end of the field. Brunt has scored one, assisted three and earnt five bonus points over his last three appearances, mainly through his contribution to set pieces. West Brom are notorious dangerous from corners and though the Baggies have a tricky fixture at home to Manchester United over the weekend, he’s a decent price and still relatively “unknown” with just 1.3% of teams selecting him.

Who to Bench

Charlie Austin (Southampton)

Charlie Austin was one of our recommendations a few weeks back. Unfortunately, he’s back on the bench list, but not based off of his performances. Austin has missed both of Southampton’s matches since Sunday after he picked up a shoulder injury during the first half of the Saints’ Europa League match against Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva last Thursday. He’s expected to be out for about three or four months (requiring surgery) and, as such, should be transferred out as soon as possible.

Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal)

Laurent Koscielny is currently the most expensive defender in Fantasy Premier League at £6.5m. Arsenal, however, haven’t looked as defensively sound in recent weeks, failing to keep a clean sheet in all of their last seven Premier League matches. Given his high price and the Gunner’s shaky defensive form, we’d rather be opting for cheaper and more consistent point earners, such as, Chelsea’s Azpilicueta or Tottenham’s Kyle Walker. Especially seeing as Arsenal have a difficult fixture against Man City this weekend.

John Stones (Manchester City)

Though £4.8m for a defender from a top side like Man City seems a decent price – and 21.1% of people seem to agree – John Stones has been one of the main “victims” of Pep Guardiola’s squad rotation. He has been rested in three of City’s last five Premier League matches and we believe this may be a regular occurance over the coming weeks as Guardiola will likely utilize his defensive squad depth as the pace over the festive schedule increases.

David de Gea (Manchester United)

David de Gea is by far the most selected goalkeeper (35.7% TSB) in Fantasy Premier League. He’s not the worst performing “upper tier” goalkeeper (those that cost £5.5m) in terms of points accumulated, however, Manchester United have failed to keep a clean sheet in five of their last six matches, from which de Gea has earnt no extra points. Contrastingly, goalkeepers such as West Brom’s Ben Foster (£4.7m) or Bournemouth’s Artur Boruc are on similar point totals as they grind up extra points by being forced to make far more saves.

All of the above are some of the latest doubtful or suspended players ahead of Gameweek 17, though there are plenty of others to be aware of. Leaving doubtful players in your lineup in the hope that they are fit in time is a gamble, but it can sometimes have its reward. If you choose to take the risk then make sure to order your benched players, so if your doubtful player doesn’t feature, the players you want will automatically be subbed in after all this weekend’s matches are over.